Make-Ahead Steel Cut Oatmeal & 4 New Oatmeal Recipes

You wouldn’t know it from the plethora of steel-cut oatmeal recipes I have on the blog (one), but steel-cut oats are actually my favourite way to enjoy oatmeal.

The only problem is I’m usually too hungry to wait 30 minutes to eat breakfast. Hence, my obsession with quick breakfasts like Vegan overnight oats, Green Monsters, and rolled oatmeal.

Oats in review:

Instant Oats have been cooked, dried and rolled and are the most processed way to eat oats. Instant oats are very thin and need only hot liquid to soften. They are ready in about 60 seconds. While they are the most convenient (although some might argue that overnight oats are the most convenient!), they often have a lot of added salt, sugar, and other strange ingredients.

Quick-cooking oats are simply rolled oats that have been cut into smaller pieces. They cook in about 3-4 minutes.

Rolled oats are also known as Old-Fashioned Oats. They have been steamed, pressed with a roller, and dried. Cooking time is between 5-10 minutes. These are the oats that I use in my oatmeal recipes and in some baking recipes.

Steel-cut oats are also known as pinhead oats (pinhead…ha), coarse-cut oats, Irish oats, or Scotch oats. They are oat groats (the inner portion of the oat kernel) that have been cut into 2-3 pieces rather than being steamed and rolled. Steel-cut oats are coarse in texture and remain chewy even after cooking and re-heating. They generally take about 20-25 minutes to cook, although there is a quick-cook overnight method too.

Because steel-cut oats retain their chewy texture after cooking (while rolled oats tend to get mushy), they are the perfect breakfast cereal to make ahead of time and quickly reheat in the morning.

Many of you said you like to make a big batch of steel-cut oats and then enjoy it all week long for quick and easy breakfasts. Once I wrapped my head around actually making the oatmeal at night (I tend to forget!), it occurred to me how much time it can save in the morning. And steel-cut oats reheat very, very well. I actually think that my make-ahead batch tasted better the next morning after the flavours developed a bit more.

Make-Ahead Steel Cut Oatmeal

With a little forethought at night or on the weekend, you can make steel-cut oats for 4 breakfasts (or more if you need!). I made this batch with mashed banana for a natural sweetener (it also does a great job of adding volume), but you can add any sweetener/fruit you prefer if you aren’t into bananas.

Yield: 4 servings or 3.5-4 cups

Ingredients:

2 cups water

2 cups almond milk (or other non-dairy milk)

1 cup uncooked steel-cut oats

2 large bananas, mashed (1 cup mashed)

2 tsp ground cinnamon

Pinch of salt

1 tbsp ground flax + 1 tbsp chia seeds (or seeds of choice)

2-3 tsp vanilla extract

1. In a medium-sized pot, bring the water and almond milk to a boil. Add in steel-cut oats and a pinch of salt and reduce heat to low.

3. When the oats are creamy and tender, remove from heat and stir in cinnamon to taste and pure vanilla extract. Serve immediately or allow to cool before transferring into air tight containers in the fridge. In the morning, add a splash of milk and reheat in the micro or on the stove-top.

Berry Almond Bliss Steel-Cut Oatmeal

Cherries, blueberries, and blackberries combine with a lovely cinnamon spiced almond butter sauce. I like to keep a bag of mixed frozen berries on hand for oatmeal and Green Monsters throughout the Fall and Winter. This bag of frozen berries I picked up is by President’s Choice. Place the berries on top if you don’t want them to bleed and turn your oatmeal purple.

1. Reheat steel-cut oats with a splash of milk either in the micro or the stove-top.

2. Add mixed berries and chopped almonds on top.

3. In a small bowl or mug, whisk together the almond butter sauce. Drizzle over top and sprinkle with sweetener.

Cinnamon Peanut Butter Swirl Steel-Cut Oatmeal

Inspired by one of my favourite pancake recipes- cinnamon peanut butter swirl pancakes! The applesauce mixed with the peanut butter gives you much more volume and it adds a bit of sweetness too. Plus, who doesn’t want to eat something swirly? I rest my case.

1. Reheat steel-cut oats with a splash of milk either in the micro or the stove-top.

2. Stir in roasted peanuts.

3. In a small bowl or mug, whisk together the cinnamon PB swirl sauce. For swirl: Add mixture into a baggie and cut the very end of the corner out. Now, “pipe” the sauce around in a swirl. Garnish with cinnamon.

Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough Glazed Steel-Cut Oatmeal

Cashew butter, almond milk, and maple syrup combine to make a delicious & decadent cookie dough flavoured glaze to pour on top of your oatmeal. This bowl is inspired by my cookie dough glazed doughnuts.

I wish I could like oats like that! I need mine to be THICK and I haven’t been able to find a way to do so without mixing them with Greek yogurt and letting them sit over night. Then I can pick the whole thing up and eat it like a cookie. I think I just need to start making an oatmeal cookie for breakfast ;)

If you cook the steel cut and then place them into small containers, it will actually firm up so when you remove it from the fridge it will be in the solid shape of your container and just pop right out! Not sure if that is thick enough for you though!

this sounds great, will definitely be giving it a try. I already love steel cut oats but have actually only eaten them as overnight oats! they are quite chewy but I like it. I tried them on the stovetop once according to the directions on the package……yuck! chef-error I’m sure, I ended up with a sticky mess that went in the garbage :)

I loved this post! I’m in love with oatmeal so the recipes you included are great! I also appreciated the explanation between all the different types of oatmeal. I’ve wondered what steel cut oats really were and the differences between the others. Thanks!

Perfect timing! I was just sitting here eating the same bowl of oatmeal I eat most mornings and was thinking I need to change it up. I have never tried steel cut oats before, but I’m excited to. Thanks for the recipes.

Ange, these recipes look RIDICULOUSLY good!! I like steel cut oatmeal but rarely eat it because it takes so darn long to cook. I think the cinnamon PB swirl and cookie dough would be my favourites. It sounds like you’ve been eating lots of oatmeal lately! :) Have a fantastic afternoon!

Perfect timing! I had a hankering for steelies this morning, so I loooove that you have a whole post devoted to different ways to roll with steel-cut oats. (I took inspiration from your pumpkin pie VOO and made some pumpkin pie steelies — so I have you to thank for a fantastic breakfast!) :)

These recipes are drool worthy and perfect for this crisp autumn weather! I am going to put my order into the coop for a big bag of the oats! Can you use them to bake as well (like the rolled oats – to add to cookies etc)? I have also had my rice cooker in a cabinet for a few yrs b/c my rice did not come out right with it (though it does not come out right on the stove either – i am beginning to get a rice complex!) – gives me new motivation to try it out again!
Thank you!

I’ve tried steel cut oats in baking and was unsuccessful (did not pass the husband test. . . or my test for that matter, though we still ate the cookies). I’m sure there are ways to use them in baking though.

I make these for my husband all the time, but I learned a trick a little while ago! Boil the water, add the oats and let them boil for a minute. Turn the heat off and cover them up and leave them overnight. In the morning, just turn the oats back on for about 7-8 minutes! This is when I add in my bananas or natural apple sauce, cinnamon, a little vanilla, some flaxseed meal or wheat germ, and whatever else I want! It saves so much time!

I linked to that quick cook trick in the post…great minds think alike! :)
I was going to prepare them that way last night, but then I figured it would be quicker to make 4 batches at once instead of washing a pot each morning. Either way, it’s so much easier than cooking from scratch each time!
Another reader commented that you can soak the steel cut overnight like in vegan overnight oats, so Im going to have to try that out too.

your posts are so timely! I’m just getting into steel cut oats… I had them for the first time last week and loved them. Usually oats leave me feeling lethargic and with low blood sugar, but I found out steel cut have a lower glycemic index so I gave them a shot and they worked out really well for me! But yes, the time factor is a bit annoying. This is great to know they reheat really well, thanks!

Yum, these look awesome! Angela where do you buy your cocoa nibs? I haven’t been able to find any at my local health food store in waterloo. I also saw your post a few weeks back that had chocolate covered cocoa nibs and i’d also love to get my hands on some of those! Any tips would be appreciated!

I buy them at Ontario Natural Food Coop in bulk. I bought the coco covered nibs from bulk barn :) I would imagine they have the plain nibs too? But not positive.
You can also get them at whole foods I think.

Now that the weather is getting cooler I can’t wait to make oatmeal…i love it! A friend turned me onto steel cut oats which I find delicious and usually use in place of old fashioned oats in oatmeal recipes. FYI- in case you didn’t know, Trader Joe’s has quick cooking steel cut oats which don’t have any additional junk in them and cook in about 8-10 mins, making it much more convenient to cook them during the week. They come in a cardboard container just like other oats :)

Those look sooo good especially beery bliss and cookie dough :D YUM! I’ve never heard of steel cut oats – pinheads (I took fish & wildlife in school and pinheads are also what we call baby fish of minnows) lol

All of these look so good Angela! I’ve never had the greatest luck with steel cut oats (although they are also my favorite kind of oat), but I’m inspired to try out these recipes. Making a big batch of oats at the beginning of the week is a fantastic idea, I’m all about saving time in the morning!

Loooooove oatmeal. I make the steel cut oats in the crockpot cause I have zero patience for stirring them over the stove. I love the topping ideas! I’ve never tried mixing my nut butters with milk or applesauce. I can’t wait to try them!

Another option is to use Heidi Swanson’s method from her cookbook Super Natural Cooking. The night before bring water to a boil and add the steel cut oats. Turn off the water and let sit overnight. They will be ready in the morning.

Great post! I have always wondered the differences between all the oats and I love steel cut too but they always take so long so I’m going to try this! The chocolate chip cookie dough sounds too delicious!! Thanks Angela :)

Wow – Fall Spice. I WILL be trying this! It not only looks Autumnal, I’ll bet it tastes it too. Great oatmeal idea’s – it’s so easy to get stuck in an oatmeal rut sometimes. Now, I have a different one to try every day of the week :)

I was JUST thinking this morning that I need to make a big batch of cooked steel cut oats for the week, rather than saving them for weekends when I have more time to make them fresh. Thank you for laying out the process for me.

Lately I’ve been making VOO with steel cut oats (rather than rolled), leading to a chewy parfait rather than a doughy one.

The cookie dough sauce sounds so yummy. I am going to make it tomorrow (or maybe tonight as part of dessert!).

Hi Angela – I love your website and I get so many wonderful ideas and recipes from it! I wanted to share my solution for steel cut oats. I bought a rice cooker with a timer so before I go to bed I load it up with steel cut oats, water, etc. and set the timer so I wake up to wonderfully warm oats. :)

Great idea since I find that steel cut oats have more “staying power” than the rolled type. However, mornings require an instant breakfast idea so this fits! I really like the nut butter sauces. My oats are about to get a lot more interesting!